Senate Education

Mr. Field, please take the roll. Senators Bridges. Here. Yep. Bright. Here. Brazil. Here. Kip. Here. Rich. Here. Marchman. Here. Mr. Chair. Here. We have everyone here and ready for our first bill, House Bill 1193, with Senator Wallace. Senator Wallace, you'd like to start us off, please. Thank you, Mr. Chair and Committee members for your consideration of House Bill 1193. Colorado's current law requires that school districts test the vision of students in kindergarten and then again in fifth and seventh grades. This bill requires that school districts also test the vision of students in pre kindergarten, as well as updating some outdated terminology by replacing the word sight with vision. I received my first pair of glasses in elementary school after getting a vision screening at my school. And we know that these supports meet students where they already are and help catch a lot of vision problems early on. Early screenings, especially through ages between ages 3 and 5, improves visual outcomes and can prevent permanent vision loss, mainly by catching treatable conditions. These can also improve visual acuity, prevent permanent vision loss, and help students learn. So overall conclusion, Benefits outweigh the harms. And I…